Bringing Her Home
by Kristen3
Summary: Sequel to "What's a Name?" by BaronessBlixen (written with permission and encouragement from the author). Now that Joe and Helen's little girl has a name, it's time for her to meet her extended family on Nantucket. Post-series one-shot.


**Author's Note: **A huge thanks goes to Anika (BaronessBlixen) for writing "What's a Name?" I've wanted to write a _Wings_ story for a long time, but never had any solid ideas. I just knew I wanted to do something on Joe and Helen's relationship. And when I read Anika's amazing work, I had wheels turning before I had even reached the end of her story! I think it's safe to say this won't be my last _Wings_ story. With that said, I hope I've done justice both to the story and the show. So please R&R! :)

Joe and Helen couldn't believe they were doing this. After spending so many years in Vienna, away from their family and friends, they were coming home. Not only that, but they would be introducing their little girl, Brianna (named in honor of Uncle Brian, of course) to everyone on Nantucket. Joe was in charge of planning their trip back. In typical Joe fashion, he planned everything to the last detail. He calculated how long their layovers would be, when they would feed Brianna, and even the exact number of diapers they would need for the trip. Privately, Helen thought he had gone way overboard, and his endless checklists made her dizzy when she tried to read them. But of course, she had known Joe long enough to understand that there would be no arguing with him.

As much as Helen loved studying her cello full-time, she missed Nantucket more than she'd expected. Though life at Tom Nevers Field was often dull, it had been her home for most of her life. But, always, when she missed Nantucket, she would look at Joe and realize that home was wherever he was. They had planned to return to the island in a year, but, much to everyone's surprise, Helen's music career finally did take off (an observation which Joe made, and found hilarious). Months became years. Slowly but surely, they began to get used to life in another country. Until Brianna. Joe said many times that he hoped his little girl would look just like her mother. Already there were signs. She didn't have much hair yet, but what she did have was unmistakably blonde. Once their little girl had a name, everyone knew it was time to come home.

Now they were nearly there. At the moment, they were thirty thousand feet above the Atlantic, headed into New York City. From there, Brian would be meeting them with Joe's beloved Cessna for the final leg of the journey. Brianna lay sleeping in Joe's arms, while Helen stared out the window. "Look, Joe." She pointed toward the front of the plane. "America." There were tears in her eyes as she spoke.

Joe shifted his daughter in order to free one hand. He used it to hold Helen's hand, gently stroking it. "I really thought we'd be back sooner than this. Truthfully, I thought Brian would _beg_ me to come back. Either that, or I'd come home to find out he sold Sandpiper to Roy!" No one was more surprised by the airline's success than Brian himself. Apparently, a bit of Joe's responsibility had actually rubbed off. Of course, he was no match for Roy's sleazy tricks or slick advertisement, but he'd managed to hold the business together.

And then there was Casey. Helen had left her older sister in charge of the family lunch counter in the airport. While Helen had never done much more than serve a small menu of choices to commuters, Casey had decided to add a touch of class to the place. She had managed to get rid of the actual counter in order to make more room for tables. She'd hired a couple of actual chefs, and now Tom Nevers Field had its very own luncheonette.

The next thing the little Hackett family knew, they were landing at JFK. They stepped off the walkway from the plane to the gate, and there stood Brian. The two once-estranged brothers ran toward each other, hugging tightly. "Now, where's my beautiful niece?" Brian was speechless as he gazed at the little bundle in Helen's arms. "You guys really named her after me?"

Helen nodded, tears in her eyes. "Of course, Brian. You're family. That's why we came back." She gave her brother-in-law a one-armed hug.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Brian held out the keys to the plane. "Everyone's waiting at the airport. I can fly back, unless you want to do the honors."

Joe took the keys without hesitating. "You think I'm gonna let my daughter get on a plane with _you _at the controls?!"

Suddenly, Brian realized how much he'd missed his older brother.

The hour's flight to Nantucket passed quickly. Helen never took her eyes off Brianna. Joe, meanwhile, fell in love with flying all over again. He'd done a bit of it in Vienna, but nothing would ever take the place of flying _his_ plane. He wondered now how he'd managed to do without it all this time.

True to Brian's word, Casey, Fay, Roy, and Antonio were indeed waiting at the airport. Casey hugged Helen immediately, and for once, she didn't say a word about her sister's appearance. She did, however, notice her niece. "Oh, Helen. She's precious."

Too choked up to speak, Helen merely nodded.

Next, it was Fay's turn. Of course, in the years since Joe and Helen had left, she had gotten older. But thankfully, she remained as tough and spunky as she'd always been. And Brian had no intentions of letting her retire; she had become his right-hand woman at Sandpiper. "I always knew you two would have beautiful babies. You know, I never got to have children with any of my Georges, so I don't have any grandchildren of my own."

"You do now," Joe replied, beaming.

"It is Antonio's turn." The Italian cabbie took Fay's spot in front of Helen. "Ah. _Che bella ragazza._ What a beautiful girl. Although, if you and I had stayed married, Helen, I'm sure that our daughter would've been even more beautiful."

Helen smiled. Her "marriage" to Antonio had been a lifetime ago. To this day, Joe still had no idea they'd had to go to Mexico in order to get a divorce. "Thank you, Antonio. We missed you."

Antonio nodded. "This airport hasn't been the same since you left."

As usual, Roy stood off to the side, watching everyone ooh and ahh over Brianna. He knew he had been rough on the Hackett brothers all those years. They might not have ever had the success that he'd created with Aeromass, but their modest little airline had a devoted clientele. He'd finally been forced to admit that their little mom-and-pop business had a certain charm. And, now, Roy felt strangely nervous, seeing Joe and Helen again. For a long moment, the three of them merely looked at each other in silence. Finally, Joe took a step forward.

"It's good to see you, Roy." He extended his hand.

Roy shook it nervously. "How-how was Germany?"

Joe laughed, and the awkwardness dissipated at once. "I wouldn't know. We were in Austria."

Roy blushed. "Right."

Suddenly, Casey looked at her watch, gasping in horror. "Oh, we better get moving! Brian and I made reservations for everyone at the Club Car tonight. You know, a big 'welcome home Joe and Helen' party."

"Oh, Casey, that's so sweet! But all that flying kind of has me beat. I think Joe and I are just gonna take Brianna to our hotel and get some sleep."

"Oh," Casey said, trying to hide her disappointment. "OK, then."

Brian stepped forward. "Guys, I've got a better plan. Why don't Case and I take care of Brianna for the night? I mean, I want to get to know this niece who shares my name! You know, before you teach her how to alphabetize her socks, she should at least know what it's like to have fun!"

"Brian, are you sure you wanna do that?" Joe asked. Brian had never been big on things like commitment or responsibility.

The younger Hackett nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Hey, you've earned it, right, big brother?" He smiled, and both boys understood this was Brian's way of apologizing for all the times he'd screwed up.

Just like that, Brianna, along with all of her baby paraphernalia, was transferred to her uncle's arms. Joe put a hand on Brian's shoulder. "There you go, man. I trust you to take care of my little girl."

Brian felt a rush of pride. It was as if, finally, Joe had accepted that Brian had grown up. "You two go enjoy yourselves. We'll be fine."

Joe nodded and took Helen's hand. Together, they walked out of the familiar Nantucket airport. As they left, Joe realized he'd never briefed his brother on Brianna's feeding schedule or sleeping habits. Even so, he knew deep down that his daughter was in good hands.

**The End**


End file.
